Read the verdict of F1 Correspondent Tom Cary on Toro Rosso and its drivers,
Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari.

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Open season: Sebastien Buemi has much to prove as he heads into the 2010 F1 campaign with Toro RossoPhoto: EPA

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'Danger' man: rookie Jaime Alguersuari has the chance to improve on an unremarkable start in F1 with Toro Rosso Photo: GETTY IMAGES

By Tom Cary, F1 Correspondent

2:40PM GMT 09 Mar 2010

Dietrich Mateschitz, owner of the Red Bull energy drink company, purchased his second Formula One team at the end of 2005 when Paul Stoddart sold the Austrian his remaining interest in Minardi.

Mateschitz subsequently struck a 50/50 joint-ownership deal with former driver Gerhard Berger and Red Bull’s “sister team” was born. Intended as a training ground for Red Bull, Ferrari-powered Toro Rosso were in fact the first to a race win courtesy of the prodigiously talented Sebastian Vettel at Monza in 2008, shortly before Mateschitz bought back Berger’s share in the team.

Vettel was nabbed by Red Bull for 2009 and Toro Rosso have found it harder going since. They will find it even harder in 2010. With customer cars now banned, and Mateschitz openly trying to sell the team, Toro Rosso are merely treading water.

Drivers

Sebastien Buemi (born 31/10/1988 in Aigle, Switzerland)

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Formerly Red Bull’s reserve driver, the Swiss scored an impressive point on his F1 debut by finishing eighth in Melbourne last year (later promoted to seventh after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified). It proved something of a false dawn as Buemi went on to pick up just six points in his rookie season. The jury is still out.

Jaime Alguersuari (born 23/03/1990 in Barcelona, Spain)

The first and still the only F1 driver to have been born in the 1990s, Alguersuari arrived at Toro Rosso midway through the 2009 season as a replacement for the disappointing Sebastien Bourdais. Touted as “the most dangerous man in F1”– given that he raced in Hungary before he had even turned a corner in an F1 car – Alguersuari in fact had a rather unremarkable eight races, failing to finish five times.

Telegraph prediction

Mid-table obscurity looms for Toro Rosso. Nevertheless, points should not be beyond a Ferrari-powered car and they will hope to compete favourably with Williams, Renault, Force India and Sauber.